Bridal Parties

There is no right or wrong answer to how many people one couple should have stand up for them – in fact you don’t need any (just two people to come up during your marriage licence signing to sign). With that being said, there are a few drawbacks to having more than a few members on each side. Once you are over three on each side there are a few things to consider.

1. Conflicting personalities, there will always be bridesmaid that dislike each other but the issues can get more petty and more frequent the larger your bridal party is.

2. Costs, each time you add a bridal party member your costs go up. Whether that be in dresses, shoes, gifts, flowers, dinners, parties – etc. (Each bridesmaid bouquet can cost $90-$125 or more; boutonnieres $15-$25)

3. Time, more time is required for everyone to get ready (everyone will have to get up earlier), walk down the aisle, photos will take a lot longer and will be more difficult as the number increases.

4. Space, consider how much space in your ceremony you have, and the reception too! Sometimes having seven+ attendants on each side is not only costly but not possible with your venue selections.

Finally, remember to choose extremely carefully when selecting attendants – I cannot emphasize this enough, don’t add someone because you need to even out the numbers or feel you will hurt someone if you don’t have them, it never works out well.